Ephat Mujuru

Ephat Mujuru stood among the rare traditional artists who channeled their artistry into protesting Zimbabwe's harsh colonial rule. During the 1970s, his politically charged composition "Guruswa," which translates to Ancient Africa, achieved enormous popularity across his native land. Mujuru once clarified in conversation that the track addressed "our struggle to free ourselves."

Trained from age seven by his grandfather Muchatera Mujuru on the mbira—an instrument resembling a xylophone—he quickly mastered it. Just three years later, his skills enabled participation in an initial possession ceremony. At fourteen, Mujuru established the ensemble Chaminuka and commenced performances across Southern Africa. Following Zimbabwe's independence in 1980, the band adopted the name Spirit of the People. Mujuru and his colleagues issued their first album the subsequent year.

His influence persisted as he aided in establishing the National Dance Company of Zimbabwe while serving as the inaugural African music instructor at the Zimbabwean College of Music. Having journeyed to America in 1982 for studies at Seattle's University of Washington, Mujuru maintained occasional teaching and lecturing roles there in mbira and marimba, extending similar instruction to multiple East Coast institutions. Though proficient on all five mbira variants, his emphasis lay on the mbira dzavadzimu, featuring twenty-two iron tines in three register groups that, in his words, embodied "the voice of the children, voice of the adults, and voice of the elders."

He partnered with Dumisani Maraire, a mbira performer originating from Zimbabwe yet residing in the United States, for the recording Shona Spirit. Roots World observed of this release, "this is real purity here: just two men with thumb pianos, shakers, and voices, with no clever tricks or star-studded overdubs." In 1992, Mujuru worked alongside the Kronos Quartet on their album Pieces of Africa. His passing occurred in London, England during 2001.